Netflix Might Resurrect Fan-Favorite Series JERICHO

After last year’s Quickster and price raising fiascos, Netflix might have found its niche in the home media marketplace. The subscriber will air an all-new season of the cancelled Fox series Arrested Development next year, and now comes word that they’re eying yet another TV show to resurrect: Jericho. The CBS series took place in a fictional Kansas town in the aftermath of devastating nuclear attacks on the United States. Fans famously sent packages of peanuts to CBS when the show was in danger of being cancelled after one season, so the network ordered another season in 2007. Subsequent attempts at pressuring the network into a third season proved futile, but Netflix may be coming to the rescue. Hit the jump for more.

Per TV Guide, Netflix has approached CBS about possibly reviving the series exclusively through their service. Apparently repeat episodes of Jericho are extremely popular on Netflix even though the show has been off the air for four years, so they decided to look into bringing the show back. The report cautions that talks are in the preliminary stages, so all of this could be for naught, but it’s an extremely interesting development in the ongoing evolution of Netflix.

Last year’s price hike troubles greatly hindered the subscription service, and Netflix lost a significant portion of their subscribers. Fans became enthusiastic when news broke that Netflix was bringing Arrested Development back, and the fact that the service is looking into reviving another cult favorite show could be a preview of what’s to come. Their business model doesn’t depend on how many people watch a particular program at a particular time, and if they make resurrecting cult favorites their niche, I could see a bevy of people signing up just to continue watching a beloved series.

As I said, this is early days so the Jericho deal is far from done, but I find this possible business model extremely interesting and I’m intrigued to see how far Netflix will take it. They already have multiple original series in development, including David Fincher‘s House of Cards, so it’s obvious that they strive to become more similar to a cable network.